Buzz Words for 2012

Three Technology Buzz Words that Will Spur Innovation in 2012

Buzz words are usually fun. Crowdsourcing, gamification, hackathon, the social enterprise are all buzz words and terms we’ve heard quite a bit over the last few years. Keep in mind, buzz words get to that level of hype for a reason, because everyone is using them. Often when they reach that level of “pop” sensibility the terms begin to get used where they don’t even remotely apply. Such is life for a buzz word. Here are three technology terms you are about to hear a whole lot of in 2012, so you may as well understand what they really mean before everyone is tweeting the term just to drive traffic… to their site … that sells orphaned kittens.

Big Data

This isn’t a new term by any stretch, but it is about to go mainstream. Credit card companies, Healthcare companies and governments have been collecting and utilizing Big Data for many years now. So why the sudden pop? Sooner rather than later, every “thing” is going to have a chip inside like this NHL jersey or this pair of soccer cleats. Big Data as a term is going mainstream because for the first time ever, the vast majority of companies, not just select Goliaths in select industries, will have access to collect, study and manipulate this data. Many will profess to play in this space, few probably will.

Related Read: Why Crowdsourcing & Open Innovation Can Rule Big Data

Self-Quantification

People love information and many are addicted to updates and relevant data streaming into their world. Fitness and wellness professionals and those simply utilizing newer technologies, hardware and apps to deliver pertinent real-time data to potentially improve their personal well-being are leading a swarm of early adopters in the field of self-quantification.

Put into simple terms, self-quantification represents a person’s ability to track more and more data about themselves. Their caloric intake, their aerobic activity, their sleeping patterns, their wellness (or sickness), their neurological responses and well beyond these “surface” readings. Pair self-quantification with the embedding of chips into all things we are wearing and you begin to see an intriguing platform. No longer is a status update about your life, but rather your life decisions emerge as the personalized update. For those who grasp the markets and industries that touch wellness and health, you understand the potential for self-quantification. Again, it’s a buzz word for a reason.

Enjoy this short, forward looking video, that showcases some technologies, interfaces and apps that are possibly just around the bend.

Consumerization

Again, this isn’t a new term. First popularized over a decade ago, it refers to IT advancements & adoptions being driven first by consumers and then brought into the work environment where advantages of the technology can be realized by the enterprise. Think back to the Blackberry dominated world of the mid 2000’s where the exact opposite was of course occurring. Enterprise practices and the adoption of RIM’s flagship technology product – Blackberry smartphones – allowed Research in Motion to gain a substantial advantage and leg up on the early smartphone market. People were used to Blackberry and it’s what their company approved so they stuck with RIM … and then came iPhone and Android.

Consumerization will not cease, it will only accelerate due to corporations adopting a BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) culture. With the emergence of the social enterprise, the term consumerization is bound to be overused. Keep your focus on what actually matters. It’s not the act of consumerization or the “doing” of consumerization, it’s setting up a nimble technology culture that allows individuals to shepherd in technologies that can benefit the enterprise. Set the stage to foster this and empower the individuals within to lead the way.

2012 is just under way. What are some IT & innovation buzz words you expect to dominate the headlines for the next 12 months? Drop us a comment below.

image credit: writeorrevisedaily.com

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Clinton Bonner (@clintonbon) is a Marketing Manager at TopCoder – the world’s largest competitive community of software developers, algorithmists and digital creatives. Fun Job!